In the News

Feb182014

More than 100 House Republicans have now co-sponsored a measure to bring legal action against President Barack Obama for overstepping the boundaries of his executive authority.

The STOP (Stop This Overreaching Presidency) resolution, introduced by GOP Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina late last year, has gained 43 co-sponsors since Obama's State of the Union address, when he vowed to implement policies on his own if Congress didn't act, bringing the total to 104, reportsThe Hill.

The bill is aimed at reversing the president's extension of healthcare policies that were ended under Obamacare, delaying the healthcare law's employer mandate for a year, adoption of the DREAM Act, and waiving part of the work requirements for welfare, Rice told the publication.

"We're a country of laws, and nobody, including the president, is above the law," he said.

Rep. Steve Scalise, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, maintained that overreach by the executive branch is not a partisan issue but a matter of setting a precedent for all presidents.

"To suggest that he can write laws without Congress is an insult to the American people," the Louisiana Republicantold Politico,

Republican Rep. Candice Miller of Michigan said it important for the House to send a message and to involve the judicial branch in any conflict with the White House.

"You cannot rule by fiat," she told Politico. "I signed on to this resolution because I have watched this president overreach."

If the legislation advanced, it would reportedly be non-binding and not need Senate approval.